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The 3 things you really must do to get better gas mileage

By Kade Phillips

Republish: EasyPublish™ Published: 18Jul2008 Word count: 603 Viewed: 316 time(s) Get Free Content For Your Site

With gas prices reaching unheard of levels, it seems that almost every other day someone else comes out with a "top ten ways to save on gas" article. We were guilty of the same thing a little while ago, but upon further reflection, the whole "gas savings tips" thing can be boiled down to a few essentials.

Actually, assuming that your car is in relatively good shape and well maintained, you really only need to concentrate on three things to get the bulk of the gas savings that are possible. In fact, if you're a "typical" driver, it would not be unusual to add 30% or more to your mileage simply by following the advice below.

1) Aggressive driving is the worst offender.

The most significant factor in saving gas is how you drive. If you have a habit of stepping on the gas aggressively every time you get going, and waiting until the last minute to step on the brake, it's costing you plenty more than it has to at the pump.

Always think ahead when you're behind the wheel. Try to make your driving as smooth as possible - both starting and stopping. Instead of getting to the posted speed limit as fast as possible, aim for a smooth and gradual acceleration. Same thing with stopping. If you can see a red light up ahead, take your foot off the gas and coast until you have to apply the brake, instead of keeping your foot on the gas pedal and braking at the last minute.

You can even make driving a bit more fun by making a game out of working with momentum and gravity. As you approach an incline, you could try to build up a bit of speed so that the momentum reduces the need for stepping on the gas as much while going up the hill, and conversely, let gravity help you when going downhill.

2) Turn off the engine if you're not going anywhere.

This applies as much to warming up the car in cold climates, as it does when idling and waiting in line for something or other while in your car.

Dress a bit warmer and let your car warm up as you drive if you live in a cold climate. Your car needs no more than 30 - 45 seconds of idling time in cold weather, to reach a reasonable operating temperature.

If you can see that you're likely to be stopped for more than a minute, it probably makes sense to turn off the engine for a while. It definitely does in terms of saving gas.

3) Drive at or slightly below the speed limit (drive slower)

It's just a fact that driving slower under normal conditions uses less gas (much less actually). By driving slower, you actually accomplish several things like: increased safety margins, avoided speeding tickets, and of course, it's one of the best ways to really save on gas.

Save yourself the aggravation of having someone behind you getting irritated, and just move to the slow lane. The time savings of going fast just don't equal the long term benefits of driving at the speed limit. Another benefit of which could be lower car insurance rates because of a better driving record.

There you have it. You can forget all of those top ten lists, or that article about 37 ways to save on gasoline.

The truth is that if you follow the advice outlined above, you'll be saving most of what is possible, without wasting your time on things that simply don't matter that much in terms of real gas savings.

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